Can I get an e-ISBN?
There is no such thing as an e-ISBN and such terminology should not be used. There are only ISBNs, and ISBNs must conform to the rules of the international standard. The term ‘e-ISBN’ is problematic because publishers have been using it in two different ways. First, to mean ‘the ISBN for a particular eBook format’, MobiPocket for example, when the publisher is allocating ISBNs to each individual format (analogous to hardback and paperback), as recommended within the standard. And second to mean ‘the single ISBN being used for all the publishers’ eBook formats’. This latter usage breaks the rules of the ISBN standard, which explicitly requires a separate ISBN for each digital file format.
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Do I use the same ISBN on the print book and on the e-book since the content is the same?
No. The print product and the e-book are two different products and should be tracked separately since the ISBN acts like an ordering number or a serial number.
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If I am selling my e-book through only one online distributor, do I need an ISBN?
Yes, any time that a product is sold in the supply chain, it needs to be tracked for trading, discovery, and reporting purposes.
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Who assigns the ISBN on an e-book: the distributor, the manufacturer/vendor, or the publisher?
It is the publisher who is responsible for assigning an ISBN to each format of an e-book. Just as with print products, distributors and manufacturer/vendors are not entitled to assign ISBNs. Publishers should be contacted regarding the need to assign an ISBN and educated about assignment protocols. If distributors assign ISBNs, duplicate assignments and confusion in the supply chain can result.
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Are bar codes required for e-books?
Since e-books are by definition electronic, there is nothing physical to scan. A bar code can only be placed on something physical, such as a print product that is scannable.
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If my e-books are found only on the web, do they need ISBNs?
Yes. Like other publications, e-books need to be tracked in the publishing industry supply chain just as all publications do.
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Does the content of an e-book get the ISBN or its formats?
ISBNs should be assigned to each format of an e-book in the same way that separate ISBNs would be assigned to hardcover, paperback and audiobooks.
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Do e-books get DOIs instead of ISBNs?
A DOI is not as much an identifier as it is a link that can connect information about an e-book or connect one to an e-book. It doesn’t identify the product itself for ordering purposes as the ISBN does.
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What identifier should be assigned to eBook digital products themselves (for example, on a copyright page)?
Whatever you put on/in the product itself, an identifier is only helpful to anyone if it uniquely identifies that product (and specifically, that eBook version). Best practice at present would be to follow the ISBN standard recommendations and show the individual ISBNs of the product in question, and, in addition, all manifestations of the identical textual content (the ‘work’) in eBook formats and in print.
The analogy is displaying both hardback and paperback ISBNs on the copyright page of each print format. What is not acceptable practice, and benefits no-one in the supply chain – whether publisher, retailer, librarian or consumer, is to display a generic number which is common to many products and unique to none.
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